Parents Can Sue Schools for Skipping Gym Class, Court Rules

Although childhood obesity is rising at an alarming rate, many school districts are minimizing physical activity. Credit: Yuri Gripas, AFP/Getty Images

In an ironic turn of events, schools are now getting in trouble for skipping gym class.

According to a ruling this week by the California Court of Appeals, parents can take their children's public schools to court to force them to provide the minimum amount of physical education required under state law, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

California's education code requires schools to offer 200 minutes of physical education every 10 days for students in grades one through six and twice that amount for students in grades seven through 12 -- and neither lunch nor recess counts toward that requirement.

The ruling could spell bad news for a lot of state schools, since a small-scale survey conducted a few years ago found more than half failed to provide the required minutes of physical activity, the Chronicle says.

The P.E. issue came light last year when a parent with a child at Cornell Elementary School in Albany, Calif., sued the school district for enforcement of the code, alleging the school wasn't meeting the minimum requirement, Donald Driscoll, the parent's attorney, tells the Chronicle.

The judge in the Sacramento trial court, where the original case was tried, ruled in favor of the school district, saying the state's physical education rule was advisory and not a requirement. In addition, the original ruling found that a private party, such as a parent, had no standing to enforce the law.

But with a 3-0 vote this week, the California Court of Appeals overturned the original ruling.

"We conclude (the law) means what it says and that, while individual school districts may have discretion as to how to administer their physical education programs, those programs must satisfy the 200-minute-per-10-school day minimum," the judges write in the decision.

The case will now return to the Sacramento trial court to determine whether or not the Albany district is actually complying with the law.

Michael Pott, the attorney that represented the district in the case, says the law gives flexibility in interpreting physical education, which, he tells the Chronicle, can include health, nutrition and things including teamwork and active play. Whereas, he says, the plaintiff's interpretation "was that it needed to be stick and a ball, outdoor running for 200 minutes every 10 days."

The California Department of Education, which was named as a defendant in the case because of its role in enforcing the education code, agrees with the appellate ruling that gym class minutes are mandatory, the newspaper reports.

"We have always had the view that the minutes are required," department spokeswoman Hilary McLean tells the Chronicle. "Unfortunately, due to the state budget crisis, we've never been funded to do the monitoring. It is up to local districts to comply with the law."

Driscoll tells the Chronicle physical activity is emphasized in the state code because it's key to a child's well-being.

"Kids need time to play; they need time to burn off their energy," he says. "Now there's a mechanism for enforcing the law."

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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 5)

I would first of all like to make a correction to the above statement, it is Physical Education class not gym class. Gym, is the place in which physical education may take place. It is fundamental important the student get exercise in school not only their minds but also there body, as current research is coming out more and more finding show that students who are better fit do better on standardized test. Also it is correct that physical education does not need to be active 100% of the time using a bat and ball, but also includes topics such as anatomy of bones and muscles and what they do for the body. The importance of being fit even more as this article states with current budget crisis, a person who is fit is less likely to need medical care due to disease such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes. So school should start finding way to monitoring physical education as they do their math, science, and reading scores.

I ALSO BELIEVE KIDS NEED TO HAVE SOME TIME TO BURN OFF ENERGY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME I HATED PE, THE HEAT WAS AWFUL, AND THE COLD EVEN WORST, SO I AM ON THE FENCE AS TO HOW I WOULD VOTE. ON THIS MATTER, BUT AS FOR SUEING, GIVE ME A BREAK, GOD EVEN SAIDS YOU SHOULDN'T SUE YOUR BROTHER, MUCH LESS THE WHOLE SCHOOL LOL.

Which is hogwash. I did everything possible to avoid PE and made straight A's. Running around and dealing with brain-dead jocks was not particularly interesting, and certainly did nothing to improve my academic performance.

What we have here is the usual: parents who are too stupid and lazy to make their kids get up off the couch and do something physical. Just one more things the schools have to deal with because the parents are incompetent. But the rainbow in all this? The parents can MAKE MONEY and still not do a damned thing.

get over yourself!!!! GYM CLASS is the class we all know and love where the children can get up and move around instead of sitting in front of a computer screen, tv screen or texting in bed or on the couch!

Parents need to take some responsibility for their own children. Budgets are getting squeezed (although, certainly not the teachers' and administrators' salaries), and decisions need to be made. Why is it the taxpayers' responsibility to exercise your kid? How about you throw out your Wii and your Xbox, cancel your 130-channel cable subscription, and make your kids get off their lazy butts and do some calisthenics, or go outside and get some fresh air. I know, crazy...how can you possibly expect your kids to understand "physical fitness" without a certified "expert" in sports and recreation?

@ momma i know that the teachers at my school have taken salary cuts, though we still have had a lot of teachers layed off and classes cut from the schedule. the only thing that hasnt been cut is the amount of money given to the sports teams (especially football).

If the school expects your kid to sit and pay attention than it should provide exercise to help accommodate that. If parents are expected to send their children to school than it is up to the school to provide ample opportunity to move to that child. It is also the responsibility of the school district to provide HEALTHY food, or the parents should be speaking up. Or to hell with all of it and homeschool your kids. You can feed them healthy, have plenty of exercise, get the work done in 1/3 or less of the time, and have meaningful time with friends. Amazing how kids with "ADHD" improve with an appropriate amount of movement and a healthy diet.

On one hand I agree with you. Parents are 'far' too happy to let video games, TVS, and computers be the sole activities for their children. That's why in my household there are time limits on these things, and video games and computer are only to be used when the weather outside is too horrid to allow out door play.

BUT..the schools are required to issue a certain amount of Physical Education to the children as well. They should comply with the regulations in effect that govern them. I feel the state mandates this much time be devoted, then -at least- that much time should be devoted. If not more.

Kids should get some exericise durimg the day AND at home. Too much time home concentration on videos, tv amd computers. The whole family should be enjoying a sport or recreatio together for everyone's health!

I ALSO BELIEVE KIDS NEED TO HAVE SOME TIME TO BURN OFF ENERGY, BUT ATTHE SAME TIME I HATED PE, THE HEAT WAS AWFUL, AND THE COLD EVEN WORST,SO I AM ON THE FENCE AS TO HOW I WOULD VOTE. ON THIS MATTER, BUT ASFOR SUEING, GIVE ME A BREAK, GOD EVEN SAIDS YOU SHOULDN'T SUE YOURBROTHER, MUCH LESS THE WHOLE SCHOOL LOL.

I ALSO BELIEVE KIDS NEED TO HAVE SOME TIME TO BURN OFF ENERGY, BUT ATTHE SAME TIME I HATED PE, THE HEAT WAS AWFUL, AND THE COLD EVEN WORST,SO I AM ON THE FENCE AS TO HOW I WOULD VOTE. ON THIS MATTER, BUT ASFOR SUEING, GIVE ME A BREAK, GOD EVEN SAIDS YOU SHOULDN'T SUE YOURBROTHER, MUCH LESS THE WHOLE SCHOOL LOL.

Schools are already doing the job of rearing many people's children. Our institutions are surrogate parents: we feed two of three meals a day, teach sex ed, provide counseling for all manner of life's issues, buy school supplies and coats, and even mind children after hours through after school programs. Schools are supposed to build academic skills, but we are struggling to catch kids up who enter with such deficits. Can the home not handle some of these non-academic items, like exercise and play?

ANYONE WHO BULLIES ANOTHER CHILD IN SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL IF THEY DONT TAKE ACTION, SHOULD BE SUED WITHOUT A DOULT. THESE SCHOOLS ARE GETTING AWAY WITH ALOT. THEY MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE POOR KIDS WHO ARE AFRAID TO GO TO SCHOOL. EVERY CHILD HAS A RIGHT TO GO TO SCHOOL AND BE SAFE, AND IF THEY ARE NOT, THEN ACTION FROM THE PARENTS NEED TO BE IN PLACE.

Bernice: And every parent has the duty to make sure that their child doesn't eat fast food every night, or sit on their butts playing video games. Every parent should make sure that their child does homework. And why are there so many bullies at school now days? School's hands are tied. The schools can't enforce any meaningful punishment, or they will be sued!!! Parents need to accept SOME responsibility for these children. Bernice, if you are hell-bent on the state raising your kids, then give them to someone who would love and cherish them enough to teach them right from wrong, and teach them how to make good choices - - - unlike the poor choices that a lot of "birth parents" made when they bedded down without the proper protection.

Elementary PE is a good thing as it is low pressure and necessary for the kids to be active. But by high school I would like to see it eliminated. Two of my daughters were athletes. It infuriated me that they were required to spend 90 minutes every other day in intense gym class then go work out or compete for 2 to 3 hours each day in the sport of their choice (competitive sports did not count as a gym class). It's tough to swim for 90 minutes then go compete in a cross country race the same afternoon. My other daughter was not an athlete. For her, PE was FAR more stressful than any college level class she took while in high school. Instead of encouraging her to develop a healthy lifestyle it made her hate any form of physical exercise.

Sue the school, well that is just another way to show how stupid the people have become. We need to encourage schools to do more physical exercise, and more creative arts, give these kids a reason to go to school. Do activities that help them learn lessons that they will use for life. Don't yell sue everytime, do something, give your time to help at school.